ERIC Number: EJ1249125
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Apr
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1694-609X
EISSN: N/A
Creating a Digital Writing Classroom: A Mixed Methods Study about a First-Year Composition Tablet Initiative
Hembrough, Tara; Jordan, Jerrica
International Journal of Instruction, v13 n2 p567-586 Apr 2020
Having a higher level of digital literacy can contribute to students' better outcomes in first-year composition. However, some underprepared and financially disenfranchised students may not have digital literacy skills nor own a portable computing device, such as a tablet, to engage their coursework. This three-year, mixed methods study of 292 first-year composition students and 46 instructors at a research university suggests that implementing an institutional initiative to offer students tablets and a digitized curriculum for first-year composition can facilitate many positive outcomes. At the study's university, a "Tablet Initiative" raised some students' digital-literacy proficiency levels, enabled their digital composition practices, and improved their course outcomes as they spent additional time both inside and outside of the classroom in reading course texts; researching their topic; planning, drafting, and revising their work; and conducting peer reviews of one another's essays. Surveys, interviews, and course observations indicate that for many students, the Tablet Initiative generated a writing-intensive, student-centered, classroom experience, with many students from underprepared or lower socioeconomic backgrounds depending on their tablets. The study's results have implications for teaching and learning with mobile digital devices in first-year composition.
Descriptors: Freshman Composition, Handheld Devices, Research Universities, College Freshmen, Program Effectiveness, Access to Computers, Disadvantaged, Technological Literacy, Student Attitudes, Technology Integration, Learner Engagement
International Journal of Instruction. Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Faculty of Education, Eskisehir, 26480, Turkey. e-mail: iji@ogu.edu.tr; Web site: http://www.e-iji.net
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A